Stackable and nestable article holder

ABSTRACT

An article holder for holding articles in a generally horizontal orientation includes a base, and a pair of side walls spaced apart and opposed to each other and extending upwardly in relation to a respective one of side edges of the base, and a rear wall extending upwardly near a rear edge of the base. A pair of opposed lower rims extend outwardly from near respective lower edges of the side walls, and a leg extend downwardly from each of the lower rims. A pair of upper rims extend outwardly from respective top edges of the side walls, and include slot elements defining a space and adapted to receive the leg of a like article holder when the two holders are in a stacked configuration. In addition, the slot element is adapted such that a portion of the slot element of an upper holder at least partially overlies the slot element of a like underlying article holder when the two holders are in a nested configuration.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a stackable and nestable article holderfor containing articles, such as magazines, documents, folders and likeitems, in a generally horizontal orientation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior art holders to contain a plurality of articles, such as documents,magazines, folders or like items, in a generally horizontal orientationare known. The holders usually have a relatively large width and length,so that the articles may be stored completely or almost completelywithin a storage region of the holder. Many such prior art holders areconfigured so that the holders may be arranged one over the other in avertically stacked, multi-level configuration, to provide that articlesmay be stored at multiple storage levels.

Space needed to transport these holders, and also the retail shelf spaceneeded to display and sell the holders, is valuable. Therefore, it isdesirable that the holders may be packaged for transport, and alsoarranged for display in a retail store, to occupy a minimum amount ofspace.

In the prior art, stackable holders to contain documents in a generallyhorizontal orientation are constructed so that the holders also may benested within one another in a nested configuration, so as to minimizethe space the holders occupy when the holders are transported ordisplayed for sale. Oftentimes, however, such holders, due to theirconstruction, cannot be easily arranged in a stacked or nestedconfiguration, or separated from one another when in the stacked ornested configuration. Also, some prior art holders have a constructionthat makes it difficult for a user to arrange the holders in avertically stacked, multi-level configuration, and then separate one ormore of the holders from another of the holder(s) from the multi-levelstack of the holders.

Accordingly, there is a need for a holder to contain articles in agenerally horizontal orientation and that, with relative ease, may bearranged with a like holder in a vertically stacked, multi-levelconfiguration, and also in a nested configuration to minimize spaceoccupied by the holders, and may be removed from a stacked, multi-levelconfiguration or a nested configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a stackable and nestable holder forholding articles in a generally horizontal orientation. The holder mayinclude a base having a rear edge, a forward edge and a pair of opposedside edges. The holder also may include a pair of side walls spacedapart and opposed to each other and extending upwardly near a respectiveone of the side edges of the base. A rear wall of the holder may extendupwardly near the rear edge of the base. The holder further may includea pair of opposing lower rims coupled to respective lower edges of theside walls, and each of the lower rims includes a leg extendingdownwardly from a lower surface of the lower rim. Also, the holder mayinclude a pair of opposing upper rims coupled to respective upper edgesof the side walls. Each of the upper rims may include a slot elementdefining a space and adapted to receive the leg of a like article holderin the space when the two holders are in a stacked configuration.

In a further aspect of the invention, the slot element of the holder isadapted such that a portion of the slot element rests on the upper rimand at least partially overlies the slot element of a like holder whenthe two holders are in a nested configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of an article holder, inaccordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom isometric view of the article holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the article holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the article holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of article holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6A is a top isometric view of a front portion of the article holderof FIG. 1;

FIG. 6B is bottom isometric view of the front portion of the articleholder shown in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6C is side isometric view of a rear portion of the article holderof FIG. 1;

FIG. 7A is a side perspective view of two article holders as shown inFIG. 1 positioned above each other for arrangement in a nestedconfiguration;

FIG. 7B is a side perspective view of the two article holders as shownin FIG. 1 positioned with a first holder partially nested within asecond holder;

FIG. 8A is a side view of two article holders as shown in FIG. 1positioned above each other for arrangement in a nested configuration;

FIG. 8B is a side view of two article holders as shown in FIG. 1positioned with a first holder partially nested within a second holder;

FIG. 8C is a side view of three article holders as shown in FIG. 1 in anested configuration;

FIG. 9A is a side view of two article holders as shown in FIG. 1positioned aligned with each other for arrangement in a stackedconfiguration;

FIG. 9B is a side view of two article holders as shown in FIG. 1arranged in a stacked configuration;

FIG. 10 is a side perspective view of two article holders as shown inFIG. 1 positioned aligned with each other for arrangement in a stackedconfiguration;

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of another embodiment of an article holder,in accordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a bottom isometric view of the article holder of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a side perspective view of two article holders as shown inFIG. 11 positioned with a first holder partially nested within a secondholder;

FIG. 14 is a side view of three article holders as shown in FIG. 11arranged in a stacked and nested configuration;

FIG. 15 is a side view of two article holders as shown in FIG. 11arranged in a stacked configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a holder for storing articles, suchas magazines, documents and the like, in a generally horizontalorientation, where the holder may be stacked with a like holder in avertically stacked, multi-level configuration to provide that articlesmay be stored on multiple storage levels, and also nested within a likeholder to minimize an amount of space occupied by the holders when theholders are arranged in a nested configuration.

FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of an embodiment of an article holder10 for holding articles in a generally horizontal orientation, inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention. In the illustratedembodiment, the holder 10 is a document tray configured to have a widthor transverse dimension that is greater than a depth or longitudinaldimension, so that the long dimension of articles, such as paper, storedin the holder extends transversely to a front opening of the holderthrough which articles may be inserted into and removed from holder.

Further referring to FIGS. 2-5, the holder 10 includes a substantiallyflat horizontally oriented base 12 having a forward edge strip 14,opposing side edges 16 and a rear edge 18. The side edges 16 desirablyare straight linear edges which are parallel to each other, and are alsoperpendicular to the rear edge 18, which is also a straight linear edge.The holder 10 also includes a substantially flat rear wall 20 extendinggenerally upwardly from near, and diverging at a slight angle, such asabout 5 degrees, from, the rear edge 18. The rear wall 20 includes astraight linear upper edge 21, which is parallel to the edge 18, andextends between opposing side edge portions 23 of the rear wall 20. Theside edge portions 23 are desirably straight linear edges, and the sideedge portions 23 extend generally upwardly in a direction toward theside edges 16 of the base 12.

The holder 10 also includes a pair of spaced apart and opposing sidewall units 22 extending generally upwardly and diverging away from theopposing side edges 16 of the base 12. The side wall units 22 extendgenerally forward from corners 24 that constitute a junction between therear wall 20 and a rear side wall 26 of the side wall units 22. The sidewall units 22 further include a pair of opposing substantially flatstrips 28 extending generally upwardly from near and coupled to theedges 16. The strips 28 also desirably diverge away from base 12 as theyextend upwardly.

The side wall units 22 also include a pair of substantially flat rearlower rims 30 and a pair of substantially flat forward lower rims 32.The rims 30 and 32 are spaced from each other in the longitudinaldirection of the holder, have a generally horizontal orientation and arecoupled to rear and forward edges 34 and 36 of the strip 28.

In addition, the side wall units 22 include forward and rear risers 38,40. The rear riser 40 includes the rear side wall portion 26 and aforward wall 42. Outer facing surfaces of the forward wall 42 and thewall portion 26 are substantially perpendicular to each other, and theforward wall 42 is coupled to a forward edge 44 of the wall portion 26and a rear edge 46 of the lower rim 30. The forward wall 42 extendsgenerally upwardly from the lower rim 30 and toward the forward edgestrip 14 of the base 12 at an angle A with respect to a plane in whichthe rim 30 generally lies, where the angle A is less than 90 degrees.

The forward riser 38 includes a rear wall 48, a side wall 50 and aforward wall 52, each of which is substantially flat. The lower rim 30extends between a forward edge 54 of the rim 30 and the edge 46. Therear wall 48 extends generally upwardly from near the forward edge 54 ofthe lower rim 30 toward the forward edge strip 14 of the base 12 at anangle B with respect to the plane in which the rim 30 lies. The angle Bdesirably is less than the angle A. The side wall 50 extends generallyupwardly continuing from the strip 28, and is coupled to the rear wall48 and the forward wall 52. The forward wall 52 extends generallyupwardly from near a rear edge 56 of the rim 32 and toward the forwardstrip 14 of the base 12 at an angle A with respect to the plane in whichthe rim 32 lies. Outer facing surfaces 60 and 64 of the respective rearand forward walls 48 and 52 of the forward riser 38 are substantiallyflat and lie in planes which are perpendicular to the plane in whichsubstantially flat outer surface 62 of the side wall 50 lies.

In addition, the holder 10 includes a pair of spaced apart and opposingsubstantially flat upper rims 66 that extend in the longitudinaldirection forward from near the rear wall 20 to near the forward strip14 of the base 12. The rims 66 include a forward tab portion 68 coupledto top edges of the walls 48, 50 and 52 of the forward riser 38, and arear tab portion 70 coupled to top edges of the walls 26, 42 and thecorner 24. The forward and rear tab portions 68, 70 extend to a topportion 72 of the rim 66. The upper facing surfaces of the top portion72 and the tab portions 68, 70 desirably are substantially flat and liein a same plane which extends parallel to the plane in whichsubstantially flat outer facing surfaces of the lower rims 30, 32 lie.

The upper rims 66 further include intermediate and forward portions 74,76. The intermediate portion 74 extends from the top portion 72vertically downwardly toward the base 12 to the forward portion 76. Theforward portion 76 has a substantially flat outer surface lying in aplane which is substantially perpendicular to the plane in which anouter surface of the top portion 72 lies. A forward wall 78 of the sidewall units 22 extends inwardly from the forward portion 76. Outersurfaces of the forward walls 78 desirably are substantially flat andlie in substantially the same plane in which a substantially flat outersurface of the forward portion 76 lies.

An article storage region 86 is formed in the space above the base 12,forward of the rear wall 20 and between the side wall units 22. Theopposing intermediate and forward rim portions 74, 76 and the forwardstrip 14 of the base 12 define a forward opening 85 through whicharticles may be inserted into and removed from the storage region 86. Inaddition, a top opening 88 through which articles may be inserted intoand removed from the storage region 86 is defined between the opposingside wall units 22, forward of an upper edge 21 of the rear wall 20 andrearward of the forward strip 14 of the base 12. Further, a rear opening90 through which articles may be inserted into and removed from thestorage region 86 is defined above the upper edge 21 and between theopposing side edge portions 23 of the rear wall 20. The plurality ofopenings of the holder 10 provides a user with a variety of alternativesto insert articles into the storage region 86 for storage in a generallyhorizontal orientation, and also to remove articles from the storageregion 86.

Referring to FIGS. 1-2 and 4, the forward strip 14 includes opposingside portions 80 extending from near and coupled to the forward wall 78,opposing connecting portions 82 extending toward the rear edge 18 fromnear and coupled to the portions 80, and a middle portion 84 extendingbetween and coupled to the connecting portions 82. The side, connectingand middle portions 80, 80, 84 desirably include outer surfaces that aresubstantially flat. The outer surface of the middle portion 84 lies in aplane that is parallel to a plane in which the outer surface of theportion 80 lies. The connection portions 80 and the middle portion 84,thus, create a gap 87 at the forward opening 85 at which a portion of anarticle, such as a document, stored in the storage region 86 may beexposed. The gap 87 provides that a user can easily grasp exposedportions of an article stored in the storage region from the downwardfacing side, so as to lift the article and remove it from the storageregion 86.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the base 12 desirably has substantially flatouter surfaces and includes a plurality of recessed regions 92. Therecessed regions 92 are generally rectangular, and have opposing longerlength sides 94 extending between the side wall units 22 and opposingshorter length sides 96 extending in the longitudinal direction of theholder 10. The recessed regions 92 desirably are spaced from the edgesof the base 12 to provide rigidity to the base 12, which is otherwisesubstantially flat. In addition, the recessed regions 92 provide that auser may easily grasp an article stored in the storage region 86 byplacing his fingers underneath the article in the space defined by therecessed regions 92.

Also, referring to FIGS. 2 and 4-5, feet 160 project downwardly from abottom surface 162 of the base 12 adjacent the corners 24 and terminateat a substantially flat bottom surface 164 which is co-planar with alower edge 15 of the forward strip 14.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, the forward riser 38 of the side wall units22 is spaced in the longitudinal direction from the rear riser 40 todefine a window 98 between the risers 38, 40, the lower rim 30 and theportion of the upper rim 66 extending between the risers 38, 40. Therisers 38, 40 are desirably sized and spaced from each other in thelongitudinal direction to provide that the window 98 is of a size suchthat a reduced amount of materials may be used to manufacture the holder10, articles stored in the storage region 86 may viewed through thewindow 98, and the adjoining portions of the upper and lower rims are ofsufficient length in the longitudinal direction of the holder to permitthe user to grasp the rims by hand, so as to carry the holder 10 orremove the holder from a nested configuration, or a stacked multi-levelconfiguration, of like holders, as described below in the textaccompanying the description of FIGS. 6-10.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 4-5, 6A and 6B, the forward tab portions 68 of theupper rims 66 include a slot element 100 extending generally downwardlytoward the base 12 and defining a gap or space 102. The slot element 100extends between upper edges 53 and 49, respectively, of the forward andrear walls 52, 48, and desirably is spaced from at least one of theupper edges 53 and 49. Referring to FIG. 6A, the tab portion 68 mayinclude a first portion 104 between the gap 102 of the slot element 100and the edge 53 of the forward wall 52 and a second portion 106 betweenthe gap 102 and the edge 49 of the rear wall 48. The slot element 100 isformed by a portion of the forward wall 52, a wall 108 opposing theforward wall 52, a portion of the side wall 50, a wall 110 opposing theside wall 50 and an optional base wall 112 coupled to the walls 50 and52 and lower edges of the walls 110, 108. The walls 108, 110, 112 andthe portions of the walls 42, 50 define the gap 102. In the illustratedembodiment, the slot element 100 generally has rectangular prism shapehaving longer sides extending from forward to rear of the holder 10.Further, the walls 48, 50, 52 and the tab portion 68 define a nestingregion 116 which contains the slot element 100 and is for receiving theforward riser 38 of a like holder, as discussed in detail below.

Similar to the forward tab portion 68, the rear tab portion 70 includesa slot element 114 having a similar and desirably identical constructionto the slot element 100. The slot element 114 is formed from portions ofthe walls 42 and 26 and includes walls 109, 111 and 113 having a similarconfiguration to the walls 108, 110 and 112, respectively, of the slotelement 100, where the portions of the walls 42, 26 and the walls 109,111 and 113 define a gap 115. The tab portion 70 further includes aforward portion 105 extending between the gap 115 and an upper edge 43of the forward wall 52. The walls 42, and the tab portion 70 define anesting region 118 which contains the slot element 114 and is forreceiving the rear riser 40 of a like holder, as discussed in detailbelow.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the forward and rear risers 38, 40 and theslot elements 100, 114 are adapted so the holder 10 and a like holdermay be arranged in a nested configuration, where the risers 38, 40 ofone holder are vertically aligned with and received within the nestingregions 116 and 118, respectively, of another like holder. In anexemplary embodiment, two holders may be arranged in a nestedconfiguration by positioning an upper holder forward of a lower holder,so that the tab portion 68 of the lower holder is positioned, in thelongitudinal direction of the holder 10, between the edges 54 and 56 ofthe respective walls 48 and 52, and also the tab portions and 70 of theupper holder is generally vertically aligned with the tab portions 68and 70 of the lower holder. The two holders may then be moved towardeach other, for example, by moving the upper holder vertically downwardonto the lower holder, so that the tab portion 68 of the lower holdermoves upwardly through the nesting region 116 of the upper holder, andalso the tab portion 70 of the lower holder moves upwardly through thenesting region 118 of the upper holder, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 8B. Theupper and lower holders can continue to be moved vertically toward eachother, until the optional base wall 112 or at least a portion of thelower edges of the walls 108, 110 of the slot element 100 of the upperholder rests on a portion of the tab portion 68, including the portion104, of the lower holder and a portion of the slot element 100 of theupper holder at least partially overlies the gap 102 of the slot element100 of the lower holder, and the optional base wall 113 or at least aportion of the lower edges of the walls 109, 111 of the slot element 114of the upper holder rests on a portion of the rear tab portion 70,including the portion 105, of the lower holder and a portion of the slotelement 114 of the upper holder at least partially overlies the gap 115of the slot element 114 of the lower holder. When the slot elements ofthe upper holder rest on the underlying tab portions of the lowerholder, the upper and bottom holders are in a nested configuration, asshown in FIG. 8C which shows three like holders in a nestedconfiguration. In one embodiment, facing surfaces of the walls of therisers of the upper and lower holders contact each other in a nestedconfiguration of the holders. Referring to FIG. 8C, in a nestedconfiguration, the base, rear wall and side wall units of an upperholder are received substantially within the storage region of anadjacent underlying lower holder. When like holders are arranged in anested configuration and placed on a substantially flat surface, such asa desk, the lower surface 164 of the feet 160 and the lower edge 15 ofthe forward strip 14 rest flat on the desk, to provide that thelowermost holder in a nested configuration of like holders issubstantially horizontally oriented. Consequently, a large number ofholders may be arranged in a nested configuration to form a verticalstack of nested holders which is stable and not easily toppled over if,for example, a lateral force were applied thereto, such as may be commonin a retail setting where the holders are displayed in a nestedconfiguration.

In one embodiment, the holder 10 is adapted so that, in a nestedconfiguration of like holders, spaces 170 are defined between therespective lower rims 30, 32 of adjacent holders to provide for ease ofseparation of the holders from each other at the spaces 170.

Referring again to FIGS. 1, 6A, 6B and 6C, a leg 130 extends downwardlyfrom a bottom surface 132 of the forward lower rim 32. The leg 130 isdesirably adapted to have a shape and size matching the gap 102 withinthe slot element 110, so that the entirety of the leg 130 may bereceived in the gap 102 of the slot element 110. In addition, a leg 134extends downwardly from a bottom surface 136 of the rear lower rim 30.The leg 134, similar to the leg 130, is adapted to have a shape and sizematching the gap 102 within the slot element 114, so that the entiretyof the leg 134 may be received in the gap 115 of the slot element 110.

In one embodiment, the legs and the slot elements of a holder areadapted such that the leg of one holder does not contact an underlyinglower rim of another like holder when the holders are arranged in anested configuration.

Further, referring to FIGS. 9A, 9B and 10, the holder is adapted so thatthe legs 130 and 134 are suitably positioned in the longitudinaldirection of the holder and extend downwardly from the lower rims 32 and30 to provide that when a first (upper) holder is vertically alignedwith a like lower holder, the legs 130, 134 of the upper holder arevertically aligned with the gaps 102, 115 of the slot elements 100, 114,respectively of the lower holder. As shown in FIGS. 9A and 10, likeholders may be arranged in vertical alignment to obtain a verticallystacked, multi-level configuration, by positioning the upper and lowerholders vertically aligned with each other. The upper holder may then bemoved vertically downward onto the lower holder, so that the legs of theupper holder (shown using phantom lines in FIG. 9B) are received withinthe gaps of the slot elements of the underlying the bottom holder. Withthe legs of the upper holder received within the respective slotelements of the lower holder, the two adjacent holders are mated to eachother and portions of the lower rims of the upper holder surrounding thelegs of the upper holder rest on opposing portions of the upper rim ofthe lower holder, to provide for a sturdy and stable arrangement of theholders vertically in a stacked, multi-level configuration. The verticalstack of holders desirably does not extend over a greater horizontalarea than the horizontal area over which a single holder extends whenresting on a flat surface, such as a desk.

In another embodiment, referring to FIGS. 11-15, an article holder 200may be configured to hold articles in a generally horizontal orientationwhere the longitudinal dimension of the articles extends in thelongitudinal direction of the holder. The article holder 200 desirablyincludes many of the same elements as the article holder 10, and thesame reference numerals as used to describe the holder 10 are usedherein to describe corresponding elements in the holder 200. Referringto FIG. 11, the holder 200 has a depth in the longitudinal directionthat is longer, and a transverse width that is shorter, than therespective depth and transverse width of the article holder 10. Theholder 200 includes a base 12, a forward strip 14, a rear wall 20 andside wall units 22 that define a storage region 86. The side wall units22 include a rear riser 40, a forward riser 38 and a middle riser 238.The middle riser 238 desirably has a construction identical to theforward rise 38, and is positioned in the longitudinal direction of theholder 200 between the forward and rear risers 38 and 40. A middle lowerrim 240 extends between the risers 238 and 38. The walls 48, 50 and 52of the middle riser 238 define a nesting region 256 having aconfiguration similar to the nesting region 116. In addition, the middleriser 238 and the first riser 38 define an additional window 98therebetween for a user to grasp the holder 200, such as by the portionof the upper rim 66 extending therebetween or by the rim 240.

In addition, the base 12 of the holder 200 may include an additionalrecessed region 92, based on the increased distance in the longitudinaldirection between the forward strip 14 and the rear wall 18 for theholder 200 in comparison to the holder 10. The base 12 also may includeopposing center feet 270 projecting downwardly from the bottom surface162 of the base 12 from adjacent the middle riser 238 and terminating ata substantially flat bottom surface 272. The surface 272 is desirablyco-planar with the lower edge 15 of forward strip 14 and the bottomsurface 164 of the feet 160.

Referring to FIGS. 11-12, the upper rim 66 includes a tab portion 252 atthe riser 238, and a slot element 250 having a construction similar tothe slot element 100 provided at the tab portion 252. The tab portion252 and the slot element 250, which defines a gap 251, have aconstruction and arrangement similar to that of the tab portion 68 andthe slot element 100, respectively, to provide that like holders 200 maybe arranged in a nested configuration, where the slot element 250 of anupper holder rests on the tab portion 252 of, and at least partiallyoverlies the gap 251 of the slot element 250, of a like lower holder, asshown in FIGS. 13-14. In addition, when the holders 200 are in a nestedconfiguration and placed on a substantially flat surface, the bottomsurfaces 164 and 272 of the feet 160, 270 and the bottom surfaces 15 ofthe forward strip 14 of the lower holder advantageously rest flat on thesurface, to provide stability for the vertically stacked holdersarranged in a nested configuration.

In addition, the holder 200 includes a leg 254 extending downwardly froma bottom surface of the rim 240. The leg 254 has a similar constructionto the leg 130 and is positioned on the holder 200 to be receivedsubstantially within the space 251 of the slot element 250, similarly asthe leg 130 may be received substantially in the space 102 of the slotelement 100, to provide that like holders 200 may be arranged in avertically stacked, multi-level configuration to provide for multiplelevel storage.

In a desired embodiment, one or more of the edges of the holderdesirably is a straight linear edge.

In one embodiment, the upper rims are spaced from the lower rims of aholder in the transverse direction of the holder.

It is to be understood that any number of holders 10 may be arranged ina nested configuration. Also, it is to be understood that any desirednumber of holders 10 may be arranged in a stacked, multi-levelconfiguration.

In addition, the walls of the holder 10 desirably are formed from aflexible material, such as plastic, to ease separation of one holderfrom another holder in which the one holder is nested, and also mayinclude materials to provide structural strength and durability to theholder.

Although the invention herein has been described with reference toparticular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodimentsare merely illustrative of the principles and applications of thepresent invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerousmodifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that otherarrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. An article holder comprising: a base having a rear edge, a forwardedge, a pair of opposed side edges and upper and lower surfaces; a pairof side walls spaced apart and opposed to each other, wherein each ofthe side walls extends upwardly in relation to a respective one of theside edges of the base; a rear wall extending upwardly near the rearedge of the base; a pair of lower rims extending outwardly fromrespective lower edges of the side walls, wherein each of the lower rimsincludes a leg extending downwardly from a lower surface of the lowerrim; and a pair of upper rims extending outwardly from respective topedges of the side walls, wherein each of the upper rims includes a slotelement defining a space, wherein the slot element is adapted to receivethe leg of a like article holder in the space when the two holders arein a stacked configuration.
 2. The holder of claim 1, wherein each ofthe side walls includes a side wall portion which, with the lower andupper rims, defines an open region for grasping the holder.
 3. Theholder of claim 1, wherein the upper rims are disposed, in a transversedirection of the holder extending from one of the side walls to theother side walls, further from the base than the lower rims.
 4. Aplurality of article holders, each of the holders being stackable with,and nestable in, another of the holders, wherein each of the holderscomprises: a base having a rear edge, a forward edge, a pair of opposedside edges and upper and lower surfaces; a pair of side walls spacedapart and opposed to each other, wherein each of the side walls extendsupwardly in relation to a respective one of the side edges of the base;a rear wall extending upwardly near the rear edge of the base; a pair oflower rims extending outwardly from near respective lower edges of theside walls, wherein each of the lower rims includes a leg extendingdownwardly from a lower surface of the lower rim; and a pair of upperrims extending outwardly from respective top edges of the side walls,wherein each of the upper rims includes a slot element defining a space,wherein the slot element is adapted to receive the leg of a like articleholder in the space when the two holders are in a stacked configuration,and wherein the slot element is adapted such that a portion of the slotelement rests on the upper rim and at least partially overlies the slotelement of a like article holder when the two holders are in a nestedconfiguration.
 5. The plurality of holders of claim 4, wherein each ofthe side walls includes a side wall portion which, with the lower andupper rims, defines an open region for grasping the holder.
 6. Theplurality of holders of claim 4, wherein the upper rims are disposed, ina transverse direction of the holder extending from one of the sidewalls to the other side walls, further from the base than the lowerrims.